Friday, April 24, 2020

Teriyaki Hens with Bok Choy Salad

Needing a healthy week night meal?   
This recipe was awesome and made such a beautiful plate.
Check it out.  Next time we are making this one for company!  

Ingredients
2 Cornish game hens (about 11/2 pounds each), halved
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
2 small red chile peppers, halved (remove seeds for less heat)
1 bunch scallions
1 grapefruit, halved
1 medium head bok choy, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish


Directions

Added Brazilian Cheese Bread - that recipe coming!
  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Season the hens with salt and pepper and place skin-side up in a roasting pan. Roast until the skin is slightly crisp, about 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, ginger, 1 chile pepper and 1/4 cup water in a pot. Cut half of the scallions into large pieces, and zest and juice half of the grapefruit; add to the pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes. Brush the hens with a few tablespoons of the sauce and continue roasting until golden, about 8 more minutes.
  • Peel and segment the remaining grapefruit half and place in a bowl. Thinly slice the remaining scallions and mince the remaining chile pepper; add to the bowl along with the bok choy, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Place half a hen on each plate. Stir any pan drippings into the remaining sauce and drizzle over the top. Serve with the bok choy salad and garnish with sesame seeds.
Tupps Tidbits:  The "cook" time was about 10 minutes longer than suggested in recipe.

You will have 1/2 a left over grapefruit for breakfast the next day. We served this with Brazilian Cheese Bread (another new recipe for us that we will post). This recipe is DEFINITELY A KEEPER at our house!

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Springtime - Carrot Muffins

Healthy, Sweet and ready to eat!
Do you have carrots in your vegetable drawer that need to be used soon? Make Muffins! These easy Carrot Muffins are lightly sweet and a great grab-and-go breakfast. It makes 12 muffins. 



INGREDIENTS:
1 large egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup sugar or splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons light butter, melted
1 cup shredded carrots
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves






DIRECTIONS:
  • Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly mist a 12 count standard-sized muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside or use muffin liners.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the egg, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla and stir together until well combined. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Add the shredded carrot and stir to combine.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves and stir until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together until combined into a batter.
  • Spoon the batter evenly amongst the wells in the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
TUPPS TIBITS:  Substitute the sugar for Splenda and make these for under 80 calories per muffin!

Super simple to make and definitely kid friendly. Enjoy!  This recipe is a KEEPER in our house!

Friday, April 3, 2020

No-Cream New England Clam Chowder

Making Health  and Nutrition a Priority During the Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

There is little doubt that COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every aspect of your/our lives. Please observe public health measures and reduce exposure to the virus to slow the spread of the disease. Healthy eating is especially important for keeping your immune system in top condition.  Please minimize your trip to the supermarket and think positive.  Our blog offers many easy meal ideas you can make at home.   Today's chowder is awesome for a April showers day!  Please enjoy..we did!

Many seafood shacks thicken their chowders with heavy cream or a roux made of flour, butter and milk, both of which add buckets of calories and fat. You can make an equally rich, delicious soup by whisking milk with a bit of flour.



Ingredients
3 cans (6.5 oz. each) minced clams
4 thick slices center-cut bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 potato (12 oz.) peeled & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups bottled clam juice
1 bay leaf
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup flour

20 oyster crackers, for garnish
Serves 4




Directions
  1. Drain the clams, reserving 2/3 cup clam juice (discard the remaining juice).
  2. Heat a dutch oven over medium. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 7 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-linted plate. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the drippings and return the pot to medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the reserved canned clam juice, potato cubes, bottled clam juice and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 8 to 9 minutes.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and flour until smooth. Add to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, until chowder thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the minced clams; cook until heated through about 2 minutes. Season with pepper. Divide the chowder among bowls and top with the bacon and oyster crackers.

Tupps Tidbits: Use leaner center-cut bacon to get all the smoky, rich flavor with less fat.
This lighter chowder is still plenty rich, thanks to a luscious milk broth.  We even used Fairlife Skim milk! This is a KEEPER RECIPE in our house!

Turkey Gnocchi Soup

What is gnocchi and how do you pronounce it?  Doesn't matter...it is good! YUMO! Gnocchi    N(Y)OK-ee  -  The word  gnocchi  may be deri...